Politics

Waterloo Region During The First World War

The strong German presence in the Waterloo Region did not overshadow British imperialism in the late nineteenth century. On May 24, 1857, the Village of Berlin, alongside the newly inaugurated Village of Waterloo, celebrated Queen Victoria’s birthday with cannon fire and brass bands. Some citizens even boarded trains to Toronto to join in the imperial festivities there. The Queen’s birthday celebration in 1857 is one example of the ethnic German population rallying together to prove their loyalty to the British Empire. Beginning in 1899, the region enthusiastically celebrated the first Empire Day, which occurred on 24 May (Queen Victoria’s birthday).This event became an annual opportunity to celebrate ties to Great Britain.

Waterloo North and Waterloo South are the pre-1955 federal constituencies, with key voting centers in Berlin and Galt, respectively. Between 1867 and 1914, in both constituencies, voting trends vary between periods of Conservative and Liberal dominance. This makes it difficult to state that either riding was staunchly Conservative or Liberal, as this trend of variation is indicative of voting habits leaning toward support for local elites. In some elections, national sentiments were reflected in the voting habits of the Waterloo Region, such as voting Conservative in 1878, due to the return of John A. Macdonald, and in 1911 due to issues with free trade. Otherwise, voting in the federal constituencies in the Waterloo Region is typical of politics elsewhere as voters voted for the individual who they believed best protect their interests.

Isaac Erb Bowman (originally Baumann) was born in St. Jacobs on 17 August, 1832, and served as the first Member of Parliament for the constituency of Waterloo North, and belonged to the Liberal Party. Before becoming a Member of Parliament, he worked as a school teacher, in a tannery (which he later came to own), and was also a clerk, a treasurer and a postmaster for the village of St. Jacobs, and also represented the district in the pre-Confederation Canadian Parliament. He also acted as the president of the Ontario Mutual Life Insurance Company from its foundation in 1871. He held the position of Member of Parliament for Waterloo North from Confederation in 1867, until the 1878 election, when he lost to German-born Hugo Kranz. He was then re-elected in 1887, and defeated Kranz’s Conservatives again in the 1891 election. During his lifetime, Bowman represented the people of Waterloo North for over 20 years before dying in 1897.

Liberal Isaac Erb Bowman (originally Baumann) was born in St. Jacobs on 17 August 1832. Bowman served as the first Member of Parliament for the constituency of Waterloo North and belonged to the Liberal Party. Before becoming a Member of Parliament, he worked as a schoolteacher, in a tannery (which he later came to own), and was also a clerk, a treasurer and a postmaster for the village of St. Jacobs. He also represented the district in the pre-Confederation Canadian Parliament. Bowman also acted as the president of the Ontario Mutual Life Insurance Company from its foundation in 1871. He held the position of Member of Parliament for Waterloo North from Confederation in 1867 until 1878 when he lost to German-born Hugo Kranz. He was then re-elected in 1887, and defeated Kranz’s Conservatives again in the 1891 election. During his lifetime, Bowman represented the people of Waterloo North for over 20 years before dying in 1897. Bowman is an example of a prominent figure who was able to serve the region in parliament because of his well-established credibility with the region’s voters.

(Gemmill, J.A. ed. The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1887. Ottawa : J. Durie, 1887; Maclean Rose, G. ed. A Cyclopæedia of Canadian biography : being chiefly men of the time : a collection of persons distinguished in professional and political life : leaders in the commerce and industry of Canada, and successful pioneers. Toronto: Rose Pub. Co., 1886; PARLINFO, “Bowman, Joseph Erb.” Accessed April 20, 2014. http://www.parl.gc.ca/)

Hugo Kranz was born in Lehrbach, Germany on 13 June 1834. He immigrated to the United States with his father in 1851 before moving to Canada and settling in Berlin, Ontario in 1855. In Berlin, his father opened a general store, which Kranz continued to run after his father’s death in 1875. Soon after arriving in Berlin, Kranz began a long political career, serving first as a town clerk from 1859 until 1867. He then served as the reeve of the village of Berlin between 1869 and 1870, before being elected mayor of the town of Berlin in 1874. Kranz served as mayor until 1878, and in that time, also helped found the Economical Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In 1878, Kranz was elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency of Waterloo North. This was during the same election that John A. Macdonald was re-elected Prime Minister of Canada. Kranz was re-elected in the 1882 election, but lost his position in the 1887 election, and was defeated again in 1891. Kranz is significant as he was an immigrant of German origin who, like many other Germans, led a very successful life.

James Livingston was born 29 November, 1838, in East Kilbride, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada in 1856, and began farming flax in 1857 in Wellesley. He became wildly successful in the flax industry. In 1877, he had a home built for himself, Castle Kilbride, named after his home town in Scotland, in Baden, Ontario, where he lived until his death in 1920. While successfully farming in Waterloo Region, he pursued a political career simultaneously. He served as the reeve for Wilmot Township between 1878 and 1879. In 1881, he ran for federal politics in the constituency of Waterloo South as a Liberal candidate. He held his federal seat from 1882 until 1900, when he did not seek reelection.

Regardless of federal allegiance, the Waterloo Region was politically in touch with the outside world. In 1871, the town of Berlin celebrated the end of the Franco-Prussian War with the Friedensfest. The Berlin city council also raised funds for national and international disasters. In 1886, they raised funds to support both Vancouver and Chicago after disastrous fires. Raising these funds is significant, as Berlin and Waterloo became the top donors, nationally, to the Canadian Patriotic Fund during the First World War.

(Celebration of Cityhood 1912. Berlin: The German Printing and Publishing Co of Berlin, 1912.)

Joseph E. Seagram was born 15 April, 1841, in Fisher’s Mills, Ontario, which is now a part of the city of Cambridge. After working as a bookkeeper at a grist mill, Seagram became the full owner of the company in 1883. He renamed the mill Seagrams, and made his brand of whiskey famous nationwide. Seagram served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Waterloo North for twelve years, between 1896 and 1904. Seagram became a prominent figure in his community and in Waterloo Region due to his success in both business and politics.

George Clare was born in Preston, Ontario, on 6 June 1854. He worked for his father’s foundry in Preston, until his father’s death in 1881. After his father’s death, Clare and his brothers founded the Clare Brothers Company Limited. As president of this company, he became involved with several businesses, such as Galt Stove and Furnace Co. Ltd.; Clare and Clare and Brodest Ltd., situated in Winnipeg; Canadian Office and School Furniture Co. Ltd.; Solid Leather Shoe Co. Ltd.; and the Preston Car and Coach Co. Clare served as reeve of the village of Preston from 1886 to 1888, and again in 1891. When Preston was incorporated as a town in 1900, he was elected as the town’s first mayor. Earlier, he ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative candidate for Waterloo South in two federal elections against James Livingston, in 1891 and 1896. However in 1900, when Livingston did not run for another term, Clare was elected to Parliament. Clare was Member of Parliament for Waterloo South from 1900 until his death in office in 1915.

As early as the 1860s, local manufacturing companies began to hold picnics for their employees and other local people. In Berlin, picnics held by local distilleries became popular, and were often accompanied by a parade and musical entertainment. These picnics are a mark of industrialization and growth in the region, as companies used picnics for community outreach and to establish a close relationship with their employees. This relationship was maintained through these types of events, and became particularly important in 1911 federal election, in which industrial workers voted in favour of Conservative protectionism, rather than Liberal reciprocity, to protect the economic interests of their employers.

William Weichel was born in Elmira, Ontario, on 20 July 1870. As a young man, he worked for his father at the family hardware store. In 1896, he opened his own store in Waterloo. In 1911, he was appointed Mayor of Waterloo, and was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Waterloo North, defeating Liberal candidate William Lyon Mackenzie King. Weichel represented the people of Waterloo North during the First World War as a Conservative MP; this changed in 1917 when he became a “Unionist” (Pro-War Conservative) candidate and lost his seat to William Daum Euler, the former Mayor of Berlin.

(Celebration of Cityhood 1912. Berlin: The German Printing and Publishing Co of Berlin, 1912; PARLINFO. “Weichel, William George.” Accessed April 20, 2014. http://www.parl.gc.ca/)